"I would probably go with traditional. Something that my family members do. Being a sociology major I kind of like to go through social norms," said Jacob Temple a college student from Keota, IA.
"I really don't like to see bodies in caskets. It's not a nice way to think of someone in their final picture. I think I would prefer to be cremated," said Lily Larsen of Sturgeon Bay.
A new study shows more Wisconsinites share that thought. The Department of Health Service found that cremations outpaced traditional burials 47-to-46 percent. That's a far cry from when Malcore Funeral Home in Green Bay began offering cremation as an option in 1978.
"At that time, we were the only crematory north of Milwaukee into Canada. At that time, the cremation rate was about four-percent." said Dan Malcore, partner at Malcore Funeral Home in Green Bay.
Increased preference for cremation can be linked in part to economics. The National Funeral Directors Association says a traditional funeral with burial costs nearly eight-thousand dollars. A basic cremation runs about 17-hundred dollars. So some people choose to save land for the living.
"They feel their cremation decision is an environmentally conscious decision," Malcore said.
Malcore adds that cremation is being combined with tradition.
"There are some people now that have a traditional funeral followed by cremation," he added.
Local 5's Terry Kovarik has the story.
